We celebrated Little Sister and her boyfriend's birthday two weeks ago. It took place a few hours after the epic Gaslamp Food tasting tour. I didn't think I'd be able to eat at all, but somehow was able to eat again by the time dinner rolled around.

It's been a really long time since I visited Benihana. I don't think there is much to say about the food. The food is nothing special and you are mainly there for the show and the group friendly environment. I would love to experience teppanyaki in Japan one day. I've experienced it in Taiwan and the food was incredibly good.

For some reason, every time I go to Benihana, we seem to get the chefs that are particularly inexperienced. I've heard of great shows, but my chef always seems to be dropping his knives and messing up. I'll let this post mainly be a picture post.

The special going on was a two person dinner for $39, chicken and filet mignon. Almost everyone went with that, except Little Sis got the Seafood trio. I will say that the seafood trio tasted better than I expected. Everything else was just okay. The food was simply cooked, so there's not much to talk about.

We started with some cocktails:

Our meals came with mushroom soup:

Salad:

Little Bro ordered a seared beef appetizer:

Lil Sis' BF ordered a Las Vegas sushi roll:

Here is the famous fried rice:

Here's our food slowly coming onto the table:

At the end, the birthday kids were serenaded with a song and given some pineapple.

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8 Responses to “Benihana”

Sandy — July 7, 2010 at 8:02 am

My daughter loves Benihana; she has a birthday coming up so I’m sure she’ll request a visit. The food is cooked well, but pricey; I guess you’re really paying for the show.
We always seem to get the less enthusiastic chefs.
I think I’m remembering correctly that there once was a Chinese teppanyaki restaurant on Clairemont Mesa (same strip mall as the Ethan Allen store). I believe the people running it were from Taiwan. The place was kind of narrow so they didn’t have the big tables, but a long counter in front of the chefs. It was quite a while ago so I may be misremembering.

Hmm, I didn’t know of a chinese teppanyaki restaurant. I’ll have to look for it. If you don’t already know, you can sign up for a membership online to receive $30 off your meal for your bday.
I used to really love Benihana. Now, no longer as much, as I’ve had so many other dining experiences. I do think it’s a bit pricey. I also don’t like how long it takes before they start.

Fat Fudge — July 7, 2010 at 11:21 am

Portions look pretty skimpy.

Sandy — July 7, 2010 at 12:46 pm

Kirbie, don’t look for this place. It went out of business years ago. I’m thinking that it’s where Teri Cafe is located.
You definitely don’t go to Benihana if you’re in a hurry. I think the portions look skimpy because you have a huge plate, and they don’t serve all the food at once.

Oops, I didn’t realize you were talking about a place that is out of business. Thanks for letting me know. I agree, the portions aren’t skimpy, but they give it to you a little at a time, so I was eating in between the photographs. And the plate is huge. I definitely left full.

Faye — July 12, 2010 at 10:10 am

I have to agree w/ the others that the portions look soooo tiny! 4 tiny pieces of 1/2 shrimp? Wow!
I went to Samurai in Lomas Santa Fe the other night w/ my sister and family. It was TERRIBLY expensive. For the new york steak it cost about $33!!
I told them about the Benihana steak/chicken combo for 2 ppl and they didn’t believe the price
Did you share any of the apps that your BF and brother ordered? Did that help you get full or was the teppenyaki enough?
Lovely post!

Oh wow, Samurai sounds expensive. Yeah, the steak/chicken is a Chef’s special right now and I think it’s a pretty good deal. There wasn’t much shrimp or veggies, but then I guess because those were just sides that came with the chicken and steak. I thought the portions were enough to get full. I didn’t have the appetizers.